New York fashion model fighting cancer becomes role model

Role model: Dayna Christison walked New York Fashion Week during her cancer treatment. (Noam Galai/Getty Images)

This cancer patient is a model fighter.

Dayna Christison has been battling Hodgkin's lymphoma for the past three years — but that hasn't stopped her from taking to the runway and signing a major modeling contract.

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"I was bald for some time, even during the open call, and it was hard for some time," she told the Daily News. "People seemed to think it was my look. It was weird at first, but now I'm totally confident about it."

The 25-year-old was diagnosed with stage IV nodular sclerosis after graduating from LIM College's fashion business program in 2013. She underwent months of chemotherapy, blood transfusions and two stem cell implants while battling the aggressive cancer.

The 5-foot-8 stunner had only dabbled in modeling before getting sick.

"I was really lost for a little bit. I just had to wake up every day and think about being healthy," she said. "But then I got really into building my portfolio and it helped me see another side of me that I never really explored before."

Christison was signed by Major Models over the summer, and has walked in six runway shows, including during New York Fashion Week in September.

The model, originally from upstate Warwick, is now undergoing a clinical trial to combat her disease at Memorial Sloan Kettering and is funding her treatment via a GoFundMe page. She hopes her story of triumph will inspire others.

"Cancer isn't who you are," she said. "It's something that happens to you, and you just have to fight through it.